Voters in the Banks School District are rejecting a $25.5 million bond to remodel and replace much of the junior high and high school. In partial returns, the bond proposal was losing 55 percent to 45 percent.

The measure, which would cost property owners $1.99 for each $1,000 of assessed valuation, would replace two aging school buildings as well as upgrade aging systems including heating, electrical and ventilation.

A new junior high building would accommodate 400 students; a new high school building, 600 students. Both would be built on the sites of the existing schools.

BACKGROUND

From The Oregonian of Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008
A $25.5 million bond in Banks would remodel and replace much of the aging junior and high schools
By Michelle Trappen

BANKS -- District Superintendent Marv Ott shakes his head as he shows off everything that's wrong with Banks High School and Banks Junior High School.

First, he heads to the boiler room, where huge, 1950s-era cylinder-shaped tanks crank out winter heat for classrooms. But the tanks often don't work, forcing repair crews to hunt for nearly extinct parts.

Then Ott points at classroom heaters, some of them loud metal contraptions suspended from ceilings, others hot water registers built into walls --all of which distribute heat unevenly. Air conditioning doesn't exist; teachers prop open windows and doors.

In science labs, electrical outlets dangle from the ceiling over work areas; modern schools have floor outlets. Auto shop students can't avoid inhaling fumes; the only ventilation is an open door or window. What was once a bathroom now serves as a testing area for English language learners.

The list goes on, which is why in November the district plans to ask Banks voters to approve a $25.5 million bond to remodel and replace much of the junior high and high schools in this tiny town.

School board members have approached the bond effort gingerly, mindful of a sagging economy, a sometimes conservative voting constituency and a fistful of competing money measures on the ballot.

But Banks has changed during the past 15 years, evolving from a sleepy Washington County farming outpost into a progressive small town populated by a friendly mix of old-timers and enthusiastic newcomers --all wanting the best for their young people.

"We do a great job with what we've got," says Ott, who's in his fourth year with the district. "That's why the district has been as successful as it is. But we also need to prepare for the future."

Parents launched this bond effort, concerned that the two schools inadequately serve the district's 1,190 students.

"My kids come home from school and talk about how hot their classrooms are," says Banks School Board member Duane Lundsten, who has a child attending the junior high and another in the high school.

"That has to have an impact on the way a kid is learning."

Students stuff classrooms; Ott says that in 2006 his district, with an average of 28 students a classroom, ranked third in Oregon for average class size. And additions made since the schools opened in the 1950s have created a maze of hallways, difficult for teachers to secure in a lockdown.

No space exists for additional science classrooms, needed so high school students can fulfill new state graduation requirements. Seismic studies show that an earthquake could heavily damage both schools. The county fire marshal says buildings don't meet code; bringing just the high school into compliance would cost more than $100,000, Ott says.

The school board hopes to break ground on new schools when classes end in June. The schools will be built in stages, Ott says, allowing students to continue in existing classrooms until new structures are built. Students should be able to move into new schools by September 2010, as finishing construction touches continue.

A community survey taken in the spring showed the Banks School Board what the community was willing to support. Only those items with 60 percent support of voters will be built with bond money, Ott says.

But a master plan now being drawn up by the DLR Group in Portland will include long-range plans for the district, including a multiuse synthetic turf field and a performing arts center --items not supported by voters in the survey.

"We're not proposing the construction of a performing arts center in this bond," school board member Will Moore says. "But the master plan will result in a campus layout that, if we elect to have such a structure, it will fit."

The master plan should be ready for public review by mid-October.

Basically, Ott says, the bond would pay for construction of a new high school and junior high school --concepts that drew strong voter support in the survey. Existing gymnasiums at both schools would remain, along with the cafeteria and music room at the junior high.

The district's original high school, built in the 1930s and now home to administrative staff, also would stay intact. An adjacent original gymnasium, known locally as the community gym, also would remain.

A second gymnasium at the high school is also planned --which would give the district a total of four gyms. The reason: Sports leagues and recreational programs in Banks, which use district facilities during off hours, already jockey for space and time.

"We don't have a parks and recreation department like other cities," Ott says. "This is where our community comes to play. And the community needs more room."

That need is expected to escalate in coming years. A growth surge in 2000, fueled by construction of a local subdivision, has calmed. But Banks is planning to push out its urban growth boundary in 2009 and possibly double in size. A population study by Portland State University's Population Research Center predicts that by 2024, Banks' population will hit 3,739, nearly triple the 2000 Census population.

The online vote tracking site Labels & Lists shows that newcomers, many of them young, don't always vote, Lundsten says.

"But all of the old guard is registered to vote, and they vote," he says. "They have pride in the school system, especially if they have grandchildren attending.

"A bond that raises their taxes, though, can be a tough sell."

Board member Moore graduated from the high school in 1976, so he considers himself a longtime resident. This June, his son graduates from the high school --which, if the bond passes, will soon after be demolished.

"The high school hasn't changed at all since I went there," Moore says. "My son is getting a good education, primarily the result of a good staff and administration. But, as a parent, I would like to see facilities that allow more class offerings, more sophisticated teaching and a higher level of education.